Games like Second Life you can play in a browser (and a few worth the download)

Second Life is the virtual world most people think of first. Linden Lab launched it in June 2003, and more than twenty years on it is still a huge, resident-built 3D world with its own economy, the Linden Dollar. The Metaverse entry on Wikipedia calls it one of the earliest examples of the idea.

It also has a barrier: you have to install it. The official Second Life Viewer runs on Windows and macOS, and the iPhone and Android apps are listed as in beta at the time of writing (October 2026). On a work laptop, a borrowed computer or a Chromebook, that can be the end of the evening before it starts. So this page answers two questions: what is like Second Life, and which of those you can open straight in a browser.

The honest answer first

Very few full 3D virtual worlds run in a plain web browser. Most of the big ones, Second Life included, use a downloaded client because they stream a lot of detail. Several popular ones also moved away from the browser: Decentraland, for example, switched in October 2024 to a desktop client it described as more stable than its old browser version. So if you see a list promising dozens of browser-based Second Life clones, be a little suspicious.

Below are our picks: one that runs in your browser and several that are worth the download. Every fact about another game is backed by a source at the bottom of the page.

Runs in your browser

AJ Cities

Our own game, so weigh this accordingly. AJ Cities is a free open-world 3D game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos. It runs in any modern web browser, on a phone or a computer, with no client to install. It is 18+.

It is much smaller than Second Life, and it is not a building game. You will not buy land or sell clothes here. What you do get, with no download, is a live estate shared with other real players:

• Your own character. Sign in, pick a male or female character, and change your hair, skin tone and clothes free at the salon and the clothes shop by the main gate.
• Other people. Up to 60 players share each live estate; when one fills, another opens. You chat with the players around you.
• Shared time. Pick a world that is always day, always night, or on real Lagos time. Everyone in the same world sees the same sky, and the estate radio plays the same song at the same moment for every player.
• Places to be. June 12 Street, the street football pitch in the bush, the beach, and Prizm, a club house inside the game where Joe-Izzy plays from 9 pm Lagos time. It is all in the game, with no real venue or ticket.

There is also AJ’s story, a single-player crime story you can play without signing in, if you would rather start alone.

Worth the download

VRChat

The nearest thing to Second Life’s anything-goes spirit today. VRChat is free on PC through Steam, Meta Quest, Pico, iPhone and Android, and it says plainly that you do not need a headset: a modern Windows computer works. Worlds and avatars are made by the community. Some instances can be limited to players verified as 18 or over. It is not browser-based.

Avakin Life

Lighter, glossier and phone-first. Avakin Life from Lockwood Publishing is free with in-app purchases and a VIP subscription, and it centres on avatars, fashion and homes you decorate. It is on iPhone and Android and, since 27 May 2026, fully released on Steam for Windows, with progress shared between phone and PC.

IMVU

IMVU has been running since 2004 and focuses on avatars and chat rooms rather than open land. It is free to start, with credits and VIP subscriptions; the iPhone app is rated 16+ on Apple’s store at the time of writing. If you are weighing the two, read IMVU vs Second Life.

Roblox

Roblox is free, runs on Windows, macOS, iPhone, Android, Xbox, PlayStation and Meta Quest, and is built entirely around experiences its users make. It is not a browser game: you install the app. Its audience skews young, but in September 2025 Roblox announced it was raising the minimum age for its restricted experiences to 18. Our take for grown-ups is in games like Roblox for adults.

Side by side

Which one should you try?

If you want Second Life’s depth and can install something, VRChat is the closest living relative. If you want style and a phone, Avakin Life. If you want to be walking down a street with other players in the next two minutes, on whatever device is in front of you, open AJ Cities in a tab.

Joining AJ Cities

1. Go to ajcities.com and choose Party at the estate.
2. Sign in with your email. Signing in creates an account if you do not have one. You must be 18 or over.
3. Pick your character and a world, change your look, and ask the police at the gate. Most nights about four in five guests who ask get in free.

Tickets are optional, last 24 hours, and are listed on the tickets page. Full steps are in how party mode works.

Can you play Second Life in a browser?

Not with the official viewer: Second Life is installed on Windows or macOS, and its mobile apps are listed as in beta at the time of writing.

Is there a free virtual world that needs no download?

AJ Cities runs in a web browser on phones and computers with nothing to install, and it is free. It is a smaller, designed world rather than a builder’s platform like Second Life.

What is the closest game to Second Life?

Our pick is VRChat, for its community-made worlds and avatars. It is free but needs an install.